Chicago may be known as the “Windy City,” but quite a few American cities have it beat when it comes to wind velocity. These locations, which range from rural to urban places and cover states from Massachusetts to Hawaii, have one thing in common: winds that will knock you off your feet.
Using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 24/7 Wall St. has identified the 34 cities where the average annual wind speed was 10.5 miles per hour or more from 1984 through 2015. Chicago’s average wind speed is less than 10 mph. For further context, the average wind speed in Los Angeles is only 1.9 mph.
Click here to see America’s windiest cities.
Click here to read our methodology.
Texas is home to the seven of the windiest cities — the most of any one state. These include Texas Panhandle cities such as Amarillo as well as cities located on the Gulf Coast, such as Corpus Christi and Galveston. Alaska is the second most common state with six cities on this list, followed by Kansas, well known for its frequent tornadoes, with four.
The average annual wind speeds in these cities is of course far lower than their maximum wind speeds. In five of the cities — Kodiak, Alaska; Kahului, Hawaii; Fargo North Dakota; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Amarillo, Texas — the maximum wind speed reached 99 mph as of 2015. While this is the fastest speed measured in the cities on our list, it pales in comparison to the 229 mph winds recorded at the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire as of that same year. As it isn’t a city, however, Mount Washington is absent from our list.
Source: 39908901@N06 / Flickr
34. Glasgow, Montana
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 86 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 43.21° F
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Source: stellalevi / Getty Images
33. San Francisco, California
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 92 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 58.16° F
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
32. Aberdeen, South Dakota
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 79 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 42.94° F
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
31. Norfolk, Nebraska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 84 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 49.20° F
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Source: Gary Tognoni / Getty Images
30. Billings, Montana
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 85 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 48.07° F
Source: EunikaSopotnicka / Getty Images
29. Rapid City, South Dakota
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 99 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 47.03° F
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
28. Abilene, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.9 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 78 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 64.51° F
Source: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons
27. Midland-Odessa, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.9 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 93 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 63.83° F
Source: Warren Metcalf / Shutterstock.com
26. Kodiak, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 10.9 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 99 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 40.87° F
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Source: DHuss / Getty Images
25. Galveston, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 69 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 71.22° F
Source: Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com
24. Grand Island, Nebraska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 80 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 50.75° F
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Source: Paulmcdonald / Wikimedia Commons
23. Concordia, Kansas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 87 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 53.76° F
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Source: Thinkstock
22. Fargo, North Dakota
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 99 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 42.25° F
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
21. Wichita Falls, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.2 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 94 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 63.32° F
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Source: Ron_Lane / Getty Images
20. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.3 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 94 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 61.43° F
Source: Douglas Rissing / Getty Images
19. Great Falls, Montana
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 83 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 44.53° F
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
18. Wichita, Kansas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 84 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 56.54° F
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
17. Boston, Massachusetts
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 87 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 51.38° F
Source: troutnut / Getty Images
16. Kotzebue, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 76 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 22.73° F
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Source: marco antonio torres / Wikimedia Commons
15. Bethel, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 77 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 30.63° F
Source: CrackerClips / Getty Images
14. Corpus Christi, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 11.7 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 92 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 72.13° F
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Source: Oscar C. Williams / Shutterstock.com
13. Casper, Wyoming
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 78 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 45.28° F
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
12. Lubbock, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 85 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 60.60° F
Source: ryanwick / Flickr
11. Clayton, New Mexico
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 82 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 54.03° F
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Source: marypmadigan / Flickr
10. Goodland, Kansas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 96 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 51.29° F
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
9. Rochester, Minnesota
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.2 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 90 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 45.34° F
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Source: Davel5957 / Getty Images
8. Cheyenne, Wyoming
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.3 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 86 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 46.34° F
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Source: GeorgeBurba / Getty Images
7. Barrow, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.6 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 74 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 11.69° F
Source: RoschetzkyIstockPhoto / Getty Images
6. Amarillo, Texas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.8 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 99 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 57.30° F
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Source: 7Michael / Getty Images
5. Kahului, Hawaii
> Annual avg. wind speed: 12.9 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 99 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 75.83° F
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
4. Dodge City, Kansas
> Annual avg. wind speed: 13.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 82 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 55.33° F
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Source: GlowingEarth / Getty Images
3. Lihue, Hawaii
> Annual avg. wind speed: 13.3 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 85 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 75.77° F
Source: Joesboy / Getty Images
2. St. Paul Island, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 15.5 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 91 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 35.33° F
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
1. Cold Bay, Alaska
> Annual avg. wind speed: 16.1 mph
> Annual max. wind speed: 96 mph
> Daily mean temp.: 38.75° F
Methodology
To determine America’s windiest cities, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the average annual wind speed in each city from 1984 through 2015 with data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The cities listed are near weather stations, also known as Local Climatological Data stations. Annual maximum wind speeds and annual normal daily minimum temperatures come from NOAA’s 2015 Comparative Climatic Data report. In cases where multiple cities had the same average annual wind speed, the city with a higher maximum annual wind speed was given the higher rank.
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